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The Future of Looking Younger: A New Face For PMMA.
The Future of Looking Younger: A New Face For PMMA.
EXPERIMENTAL SET-UP
Treatment tests were first conducted on samples (6.5 × 6.5 × 0.5 mm)
sawed from commercially purchased clear cast PMMA sheets, as well as
extruded. Superficial and deeper scratches (width of 0.2–0.5 mm) were
simulated with sharp metal points, while hammers and chisels were used
Figure 1. Damaged test sample
to recreate chips (Figure 1).
Fill materials and methods providing the best results were further tested
on damaged mock-ups: clear PMMA objects bought at flea markets and
face-mounted photographs donated by a photograph conservator. The
face-mounted photographs included two kinds of images: a half-black/
half-white image and a colored one (Figure 2). These images were selected
to evaluate differences in the perception of repairs performed on clear
PMMA placed against different colored backgrounds.
Figure 2. Damaged mock-ups
Fill materials
Viscosity of
Commercial Composition FTIR RI (Becke
Type
Ratio product. cP
product (datasheet information) results line test)*
(datasheet)
Paraloid™ F-10 Butyl methacrylate copolymer. 40% solids in Butyl methacrylate 10, 20 and 40% w/w. Dilution with 1400–2800 1.476
9:1 mixture Mineral Spirits : Aromatic 150 Mineral Spirits
(100–140oC aromatic content ≤0.05% CAS
64742-49-0)
Acrylic resins
Paraloid™ B-67 Isobutyl methacrylate Isobutyl methacrylate 10, 20 and 40% w/w in Mineral Spirits - 1.486
(100–140oC aromatic content ≤0.05%
CAS 64742-49-0)
Paraloid™ F-10 Mixture of two previous products Butyl methacrylate 1:1 mixture F-10 + B-67 at 40% in Mineral - 1.486
+ + Spirits (100–140oC aromatic content ≤0.05%
Paraloid™ B-67 Isobutyl methacrylate CAS 64742-49-0)
Regalrez® 1094 Hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin Hydrocarbon resin 40% w/w in ShellSol D40 - 1.518
Regalrez® 1094 Hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin Hydrocarbon resin 40% w/w Regalrez in ShellSol D40 with 2%w - 1.518
Hydrocarbon resins
+ + + to resin Tinuvin
Tinuvin® 292 sterically hindered amines (light stabilizer sebacate
mixture)
Regalrez® 1126 Hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin Hydrocarbon resin 40% w/w in ShellSol D40 - 1.518
Regalrez® 1094 Hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin Hydrocarbon resin 40% w/w Regalrez in ShellSol D40 with 2%w - 1.518
+ + + to resin Tinuvin
Tinuvin® 292 sterically hindered amines (light stabilizer sebacate
mixture)
Hxtal NYL-1 Hydrogenated Bisphenol A. diglycidyl ether Hydrogenated 3:1 by weight component A to component B 200–300 1.516
Epoxy resins
Bisphenol A. diglycidyl
ether
EPO-TEK® 305 Substituted glycidyl ether resin Bisphenol A 10:2.8 by weight component A to 150–250 1.482
diglycidylether component B
Dymax Ultra Mixture of acrylated urethanes CAS 5888- Urethane, acrylate - 65 1.510
Light-Weld® 33-5. 15625-89. 868-77-9. 2680-03-7 and
4-20638 proprietary products.
Dymax Ultra Mixture of acrylated urethanes CAS 2680- Urethane, methacrylate - 450 1.510
Light-Weld® 03-7. 868-77-9. 79-10-7 and proprietary
4-20418 products.
Single component UV curing materials
Dymax Ultra Acrylated urethane CAS 5888-33-5 and Urethane, acrylate - 150 1.510
Light-Weld® proprietary products
3099
Norland Optical Mixture of proprietary mercapto-ester and Urethane, acrylate - 80–95 1.520
Adhesive 74 CAS 39423-51-3. 1330-61-6
Norland Optical Mix of proprietary aliphatic urethane Urethane, methacrylate - 3500–5500 1.510
Adhesive 76 acrylate and CAS 7328-17-8. 2455-24-5
Norland Optical Mixture of proprietary mercapto-ester and Acrylate - 15–20 1.512
Adhesive 89 1.6 Hexanediol Diacrylate
Norland Mixture of proprietary mercapto-esters and Acrylate, phthalate - 350 1.512
Blocking CAS 120-55-8. 94-51-9
Adhesive 107
EPO-TEK® Proprietary specialty acrylate blend. Urethane, acrylate - 150–250 1.504
OG603
EPO-TEK® Proprietary epoxy resin Urethane, acrylate - 447 1.493
UD1355
Test samples, mock-ups and fill materials were analyzed using a 15×
Cassegrain objective on a Hyperion 3000 FTIR microscope (Bruker Optics)
with a mid-band MCT detector and purged with dry air. Spectra were the
sum of 64 scans at a resolution of 4 cm-1.
Films of each fill material were prepared on Mylar using am 8 mil drawdown
bar. UV curing materials were cured between two Mylar sheets to avoid oxygen
inhibition. The films were exposed in an Atlas Weather-Ometer Ci4000,
following ASTM standard D4459-99 for Xenon-Arc Exposure of Plastics
Intended for Indoor Application. Irradiance was controlled at 0.33 W/m2 at
340 nm; test pieces were evaluated every 100 hours for 400 hours of exposure.
Color measurements
aging
Hydrocarbon resins
Epoxy resins
Based on this assessment, the following materials were selected for further
tests on mock-ups and compared. For filling scratches: HXTAL NYL-1,
Regalrez 1094 (40%) and Dymax 4-20638; and for filling chips: HXTAL
NYL-1, Regalrez 1094, and Paraloid F-10 (both at 40%). Tests on mock-ups
showed that HXTAL NYL-1 and Regalrez 1094 are the best options; they
were able to restore the transparency on both objects and face-mounted
photographs, proved to be easy to apply and posed no issues during curing
(Figure 4).
Paraloid™ B-67 Reversible Scratch: easier to apply at 20% Scratch: poor No visible Poor Poor
Chip: difficult to apply at 40%, too viscous Chip: poor (bubbles) change
(multiple applications needed due to solvent
evaporation)
Paraloid™ F-10 Reversible Scratch: easier to apply at 20% Scratch: poor No visible Poor Poor
+ Chip: possible to apply at 40% Chip: poor (bubbles - but less than change
Paraloid™ B-67 (multiple applications needed due to solvent Paraloid™ B-67)
evaporation)
Regalrez® 1094 Reversible Scratch: easy to apply at 40% Scratch: very good No visible Very good Very good
Chip: easy to apply, good result at 40% Chip: very good change
(for chip, multiple applications needed due
to solvent evaporation)
Regalrez® 1094 Reversible Scratch: easy to apply, good result at 40% Scratch: good results No visible Good Very good
Hydrocarbon resins
+ Chip: easy to apply, good result at 40% Chip: very good results change
Tinuvin® 292 (for chip, multiple applications needed due
to solvent evaporation)
Regalrez® 1126 Reversible Scratch: easy to apply, good result at 40% Scratch: good No visible Good Very good
Chip: easy to apply, good result at 40% Chip: very good change
(for chip, multiple applications needed due
to solvent evaporation)
Regalrez® 1094 Reversible Scratch: easy to apply, good result at 40% Scratch: good No visible Good Very good
+ Chip: easy to apply, good result at 40% Chip: very good change
Tinuvin® 292 (for chip, multiple applications needed due
to solvent evaporation)
Hxtal NYL-1 Non-reversible Scratch: easy to apply Scratch: very good No visible Very Good Very good
Chip: easy to apply Chip: very good change
(for chip, one application possible due to its
Epoxy resins
The three RCE objects showed several scratches on their PMMA surfaces.
Figure 5. Details of Case 1: the PMMA In Tempelman’s and van den Ijssel’s works, some deep scratches were
surface before treatment (left) showing deep particularly interfering with the objects’ perception and they could also
scratches interfering with the object’s original be mistaken for original incisions. In the van den Ijssel, the additional
appearance; after scratch-filling (right) when
challenge was to saturate a colored transparent PMMA. Treatment strategies
the transparency was recovered
were first discussed with the RCE conservation specialist Ron Kievits.
It was decided to treat only the most disturbing scratches, identified by
placing the objects on a black background, which also helped to improve
the visibility of the damages thus facilitating precise applications. Regalrez
1094 was preferred to HXTAL NYL-1 because, with results almost visually
equivalent on scratches, it has the added advantage of being highly reversible.
The resin was easily applied with the mini-brush as a paint retouch. One
application was sufficient to reduce scratches (Figure 5). Scratch-filling
Figure 6. Details of Case 3 showing the
ability of the clear resin to re-saturate was performed with objects lying flat as well as in an upright position.
scratched colored PMMA even without The mini-brush was able to hold the low-viscosity product; however, when
addition of dyes; before scratch-filling (left) treated in an upright position it was necessary to minimize the amount of
and after (right)
resin to avoid dripping. Regalrez 1094 treatments successfully “retouched”
the damaged PMMA surfaces, recovering the transparency and permitting
the reading of all three objects. Treatments showed also the ability of the
resin to re-saturate colored clear PMMA without adding dyes (Figure 6).
For van Elk’s photograph, the face-mount had suffered a serious chip
on its edge. The damage was treated with HXTAL NYL-1 because, due
to its minimal shrinkage upon curing, it is easier to use on deep chips.
Figure 7. Details of Case 4 before and after Beeswax was temporarily applied along the broken edge to avoid spreading
chip-filling. © Borzo Gallery of resin. Epoxy was carefully dripped within the boundaries of the loss
until it was completely filled. After curing, no further applications were
required. The repair matched the PMMA surface in level and clarity. The
photograph completely recovered the lost transparency and visibility of
the image underneath (Figure 7).
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would specially like to thank Ron Kievits (RCE), Maarten van
Bommel (UVA), Martin Jürgens (Rijksmuseum), and Gary Mattison (GCI).
REFERENCES